USSMingo(1862)
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Laid down | 1859 at California, Pennsylvania |
| Out of service | November 1862 |
| Fate | Sank November 1862 accidentally at Cape Girardeau, Missouri |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement | 228 tons |
| Propulsion | Stern-wheel ram |
| Speed | 12 knots |
The firstUSSMingo,a stern-wheel steamer built atCalifornia, Pennsylvania,in 1859 and used to tow coal barges, was purchased at Pittsburgh by ColonelCharles Ellet Jr.in April 1862 for usage in theU.S. Ram Fleetduring theAmerican Civil War.
Ellet Ram Fleet[edit]
She was fitted out as a ram atPittsburghand headed down theOhio River29 April to join a fleet of rams which Ellet was organizing to counter the Confederate River Defense Fleet. This group of southern rams had been fitted out in the lowerMississippiand threatened to emulate the dreaded southern ironclad ramVirginiain routing wooden hulled Union ships. On 10 May the Confederate flotilla made a spirited attack on Union gunboats and mortar schooners atPlum Point Bend, Tennessee,sinkingCincinnatiand forcing theMound Cityaground. A fortnight later all but one of the rams had joined the Union flotilla aboveFort Pillowready for action. As the ram fleet and Western Flotilla prepared to attack, GeneralHalleck'scapture of Corinth, Mississippi,on 30 May cut the railway lines which supported the Confederate positions at Forts Pillow and Randolph, forcing the South to abandon these river strongholds.
First Battle of Memphis[edit]
The Confederacy charged its River Defense Fleet, the only remaining operational group of southern warships worthy of the name fleet, with the task of stemming the Union advance down the Mississippi. The South's strategy called for a naval stand atMemphis, Tennessee.
On the evening of 6 June, Flag OfficerDavisarrived above the city with his ironclads. Before dawn the next morning the Union ships raised their anchors and dropped downstream by their sterns. Half an hour later the Confederate rams got underway from the Memphis levee and opened fire.
At this point Colonel Ellet ordered his rams to steam through the line of Flag Officer Davis' slower ironclads and to run down the Confederate steamers. His flagshipQueen of the Westheaded straight for Colonel Lovell, the leading southern ram. A moment before the two ships crashed, one of Colonel Lovell's engines failed causing her to veer. The Union ram's reinforced prow smashed into Colonel Lovell's side, ripping a fatal hole in her hull. When Queen of the West pulled free from Lovell, she ran aground on the Arkansas shore. Meanwhile, Union ramMonarchcrashed into foundering Lovell with a second blow which sent her to the river bottom with all but five of her crew. By then Davis' ironclads had steamed within easy range of the southern ships and began to score with the effective fire. In the ensuing close action, the Confederate River Defense Fleet was destroyed; all of its ships, except theVan Dorn,were either captured, sunk, or grounded. Mingo andLioness,ordered to protect the rear of Ellet's column, reached the scene of battle after the rout was over. Memphis surrendered to Flag Officer Davis, and the pressure of relentless naval power placed another important segment of the Mississippi firmly under Union control, an open wound in the Confederate heartland. During the next few days, the rams took on cannon to prepare to fight Confederate ships which they could not reach with their deadly prows.
Battle of Vicksburg[edit]
On 19 June, Mingo and four sister rams got underway downstream from Memphis. A week later, after the rams had moved down the river to a point just aboveVicksburg,Ellet sent a party across the peninsula, formed by a bend in the river opposite the hillside town, to tellFarragut,just below the fortress, that the Union had won control of the upper Mississippi. Farragut ran the gauntlet past Vicksburg's guns 28 June, and Flag Officer Davis joined him above the city with the Western Flotilla 1 July.
The meeting of the fresh water and salt water squadrons helped buoy morale throughout the North, but control of the river which it implied could not be realized until the South lost its Gibraltar-like fortress at Vicksburg. A year of seemingly endless labor and bitter fighting awaited the champions of the Union cause beforePresidentLincolncould write: "The Father of Waters again goes unvexed to the sea..."
On 15 July, the Confederate ironclad ramArkansas,built at Memphis and completed atYazoo, Mississippi,raced down theYazoo Riverand fought through the combined Union squadrons to shelter under the guns at Vicksburg. At the first sight ofArkansas,Lancastertried to ram the southern ship; but when she was a mere 100 yards from her quarry, a broadside from the ironclad opened up her lines and made her unmanageable. AsLancasterdrifted downstream,Queen of the Westcaught her and towed her to safety. The following day ramMingocame alongside and tookLancasterto Memphis for repairs.
In the coming monthsMingoand her sister rams worked tirelessly to control the river and to help capture Vicksburg. In November she sank accidentally atCape Girardeau, Missouri.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.The entry can be foundhere.
External links[edit]
- Photo galleryat navsource.org
